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RSPB GUIDE TO BIRDSONG Adrian Thomas 000 Birdsong Section 1.indd 1 22/11/2018 11:53 000 Birdsong Section 1.indd 2 22/11/2018 11:53 RSPB GUIDE TO BIRDSONG Adrian Thomas 000 Birdsong Section 1.indd 3 22/11/2018 11:53 BLOOMSBURY WILDLIFE Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY WILDLIFE and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in the United Kingdom, 2019 This electronic edition published in 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Copyright © Adrian Thomas, 2019 Adrian Thomas has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on pp. 248–249 constitute an extension of this copyright page All rights reserved. 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Subsequent sellers of this book are not commercial participators for the purpose of Part II of the Charities Act 1992. 000 Birdsong Section 1.indd 4 22/11/2018 11:53 Contents Part 1: An Introduction to Bird Songs and Calls 6 Introduction 8 How to use this guide 9 What is sound? 10 How do birds make noises? 11 Types of bird sound 12 How to describe bird sounds 17 Reading sonograms 34 What sounds to expect: Where and when? 35 What to expect: Habitats 38 Putting it all together 54 Turning it into learning 55 Part 2: Guide to Common Bird Songs and Calls 56 Towns and villages 60 Woods and copses 88 Upland woodland 108 Farmland 112 Reedbeds and marshes 125 Part 3: Reference Guide 130 How to Record Bird Sounds 242 Glossary 247 References 248 Acknowledgements 248 Sound Credits 248 Photo Credits 249 Track List 250 Index 252 000 Birdsong Section 1.indd 5 22/11/2018 11:53 000 Birdsong Section 1.indd 6 22/11/2018 11:53 PART 1 An Introduction to Bird Songs and Calls 000 Birdsong Section 1.indd 7 22/11/2018 11:53 Introduction When I was a child, my dad was the volunteer However, actually getting to grips with birdsong warden of a woodland nature reserve in and recognising which bird is making which Worcestershire. Each year in early May, he would sound can be seen as something of a dark art: lead guided walks in the evening. As each gathering impenetrable, unfathomable, a foreign language of strangers made their way along the darkening beyond our comprehension. Unable to make paths, listening to the Robins and Song Thrushes sense of it, too many people let birdsong wash sing their final refrains of the day, we all shared a over them. palpable sense of anticipation. But having spent more than 40 years of my life When we reached our destination – a secluded engrossed in the world of birds, I felt that there glade – we would stand as though on hallowed was more that could be done to help people tune ground, waiting, holding our breaths. At last, the in to their sounds and decode their secrets. The main act would begin, cutting through the darkness: rewards for the effort are enormous. Those who the song of the Nightingales (above). If luck were take the time to learn will notice many more birds. with us, they would perform with such power, By hearing more, you see more and understand control and creativity that people would … well, I more. Learning these sounds can give you insight don’t use this word often: they’d swoon. into how each bird is feeling, and what it is trying Such experiences remind me how lucky we are. to tell other birds around it. Bird sounds enliven It seems little short of a miracle that one group your day and are a pleasant distraction from the of wildlife – the birds – have evolved to make daily grind. such elaborate, musical sounds that, to our ears, More than anything, as with those evening are so fascinating, so entrancing and at times so Nightingale walks, birdsong can bring you joy, exquisitely beautiful. Frogs croak, bees hum and and that is what I really wanted to share. grasshoppers chirrup but none of them pour forth So I got out my old tent from the loft, picked their soul in such an ecstasy (as Keats extolled in up my rather large microphone, headed out his ‘Ode to a Nightingale’). Birdsong is the natural into beautiful, wild places across the UK, and soundtrack to our lives; it can evoke a sense of this book and the accompanying recordings are place, a moment, a time of day, a year or a season. the results. 8 000 Birdsong Section 1.indd 8 22/11/2018 11:53